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I asked the ocean one question
could you stay calm instead of being

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greedy and taking
land away

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For thousands of years the Inupiaq
people of Shishmaref Alaska

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have lived in the center of animal
migration routes along the Bering Strait

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Their livelihoods and culture
characterized by a profound

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interdependence between the land and sea
and the animals and people

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However as rising temperatures in the
arctic region have caused polar ice

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melting and thinning
the traditional way of life of the

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Shishmaref people may soon vanish with a rising tide

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The high levels of greenhouse gases
released by humans have trapped heat in

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the planet's lower atmosphere
causing global temperatures to rise. In

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Arctic regions
this has created a positive feedback

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loop that is contributing
to even greater warming than in other

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parts of the world
The loop is called the albedo effect and

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works as follows:
as global temperatures rise due to human

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activity Arctic
sea ice melts. When this reflective ice

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disappears
darker ocean water absorbs more heat

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causing a greater increase
in temperature and further ice melt

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According to the National Academy of
Sciences the Arctic has warmed almost 2

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degrees celsius since the 1970s
While this change may seem insignificant

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the temperature
rise has led to a significant

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diminishing of the polar ice caps
decreasing summer sea ice coverage

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by nearly 40 percent. For the residents
of Shishmaref

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this means their community is no longer
the center of the bearded seal

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population migration route
that their diet and culture so heavily

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depend upon
There's really nothing here to help

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people survive

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The only reason we're here
is mainly because we subsist off the

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ocean
and off the land and that's our primary

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reason why Shishmaf is located here
We love to be close to the ocean

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Life in Shishmaref revolves around this
relationship with the natural world

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and the importance of ice as a
connection between two landscapes is at

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the center
For example, the Shishmaref people have

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62 words to
just describe the dynamics of sea ice

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Bearded seals and to some extent spotted seals

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are the region's most valued
socioeconomic resource

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but according to the community elders it
is no longer safe

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to hunt on the thinning ice and the
unstable conditions have required the

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use of expensive boats
In past hunting seasons the hunt has not

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even occurred
disrupting the traditional subsistence

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hunting lifestyle that is so ingrained
in the Shishmaref culture

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Local hunters have not only observed the
changing distribution and roots of the

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bearded seal population
but also that the seals have had thinner

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blubber in recent years
This decline in the size and general

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health of the population can be
attributed to rising ocean temperatures

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that cause toxic algal blooms
Not only does this impact the seal

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population it eliminates
a food source for native birds impacting

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the biodiversity of the region
making land and sea less resilient and

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destroying an
important source of food and culture for

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the Shishmaref people
The impact on hunting and biodiversity

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combined with
increases in flooding and wind that can

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be attributed to climate
change has made life in Shishmaref

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difficult and the future of the people
unclear. Since 2001

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the already small island has lost an
average of nearly 23 feet

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of shoreline per year and homes and
buildings have been destroyed due to

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flooding
In the past communal mobility in

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response to seasonal flooding was part
of Shishmaraf lifestyle

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but when colonization prompted
sedentarization

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the once highly resilient and mobile
population was forced to stay in one

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spot
Now there isn't much left of Shishmaref

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to escape to
As a result the people of Shishmaref

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have decided that leaving the island
that has been their home for generations

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is the only option
But such a big endeavor would require

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upwards of 180 million dollars
and little assistance has been given by

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the state or federal government
Moreover the relocation process will

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prove difficult to the preservation of
Shishmaref culture

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as migration outside traditional
subsistence land

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would mean the destruction of cultural
integrity

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Shishmaref is not unique. 186 other
Alaskan native villages are currently

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facing the effects of climate change
and at least 12 are searching for

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relocation options
Climate change is also forcing other

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communities around the world to relocate
Several droughts has forced hundreds of

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people to migrate through the Himalayas
in Central Asia

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as well as in the Senegal River Valley
Similar to Shishmaref over 400 coastal

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and island communities in the United
States are facing relocation

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While everyone is affected by climate
change communities with fewer resources

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are currently facing its harshest
effects

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As we go forward it is essential that we
provide support for the communities that

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are suffering as we work to counteract
the damage we have done. To support

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climate refugees around the world
please donate to the Environmental

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Justice Foundation's
Climate Refugee Protection campaign that

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works to give vulnerable communities
throughout the world a voice and provide

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protection against
extreme weather events and climate

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change that are already displacing an
estimated

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41 people each minute, and the
International Arctic Research Center

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which brings together scientists in
local Alaskan communities

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for collaborative research projects.
Thank you